Instead of buying BMW or Mercedes-Benz in Nashville, you can subscribe. But for how much?

Two luxury auto brands are using Nashville as a test site for an alternative to buying or leasing a new vehicle — subscribing.

And as more automakers are joining the national trend, prices for one of the Nashville programs have dropped over the last few months.

This undated photo provided by BMW shows the 2018 BMW M5, one of the cars that BMW is making ...more

This undated photo provided by BMW shows the 2018 BMW M5, one of the cars that BMW is making available in the $3,700-per-month tier of its Access by BMW car subscription service. In BMW's program, members can switch cars during a month as often as they like.

AP

Mercedes-Benz is now offering its monthly subscription option, known as Mercedes-Benz Collection, in Nashville and Philadelphia. The rates vary by tier levels at $1,095, $1,595 and $2,995.

Charlie, a concierge for Book by Cadillac, walks through the features in a Cadillac ESV. Cadillac's ...more

Charlie, a concierge for Book by Cadillac, walks through the features in a Cadillac ESV. Cadillac's luxury car subscription program will offer rare and top-of-the-line models to their lineup in select markets.

Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY

In addition to the monthly rate, subscribers are asked to pay a $495 activation fee.

And while BMW announced earlier this year it would be testing its service exclusively in Nashville, the rates have since lowered in Music City.

The Access by BMW program options ranged from $2,000 to $3,700 earlier this year but have since dropped to the $1,099-$2,699 range.

Just like other subscriptions, the programs can be handled entirely through smartphone apps. Signing up is easy and quick, as is ordering new models whenever a driver tires of the one he or she is driving.

Phil DiIanni, a BMW spokesman, said in April that Nashville was chosen for the pilot because of its dealer partnerships, demographics and cultural profile, underscoring the city's growth of affluent residents.

Through Access by BMW, monthly subscribers are able to request a BMW vehicle through a mobile app, and the vehicle will be delivered by a BMW concierge. There is no limit on how many times a member can switch vehicles.

As with other national brands testing their subscription programs at other U.S. locales, the selection of vehicles varies.

Mercedes is betting that offering one of the wider selections of vehicles will make the difference.

Besides a chance to try to pick up a little extra business that might have escaped them otherwise, automakers have another prize in mind when it comes to subscription services. They want to collar more millennials, who they see as the future of their brands and ones who are most accustomed to the subscriber way of life.

Automakers agree that subscription customers tend to be younger than other buyers, having come to wealth earlier in their lives. But subscription services aren't cheap. No matter how they are structured, they can be far more expensive than buying or leasing.